Interpreting the effect of regional climate fluctuations on Quercus robur L. trees under a temperate continental climate (southern Romania)

Abstract

Interpreting the effect of regional climate fluctuations on Quercus robur L. trees under a temperate continental climate (southern Romania) Received: 6 July 2017; Accepted: 27 November 2017 Abstract: To determine oak tree sensitivity to climate fluctuations as a precipitation predictor, we eliminated monthly climate data and computed the growth-precipitation correlation using mean daily values calculated in time intervals. Precipitation from March through May is the primary limiting factor in intra-annual tree-ring growth for Quercus robur L. in southern Romania. Bootstrap correlations between the residual series and monthly average precipitation showed a positive dependence (r = 0.4). Using CLIMTREG software and daily climate data, we obtained correlation values of (0.6) and a better understanding of on-going tree radial growth. We found that the oak growth process is active during two distinct periods in the study area, December 22 th -February 10 th (earlywood) and March 04 th -June 13 th (latewood). For the studied oak tree population, the correlation with climate was positive with respect to precipitation and negative with respect to temperature. This indicates that annual tree-ring formation was influenced by the precipitation regime and frequency and by the degree of drought. These results also indicate that different behaviours occur among the examined earlywood and latewood under the same climatic conditions, which were then analysed.

The Climatic Response of Tree Ring Width Components of Ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.) and Common Oak (Quercus robur L.) from Eastern Europe

“…Additionally, ash EW development can be affected by severe winter-spring droughts or intense frost events [71]. Our findings regarding the oak RW/LW positive response to previous autumn and current spring to summer precipitation agree with other studies from Western [72], Southern [3,14,26,69], and Eastern Europe [24,25,68,84,85], where the water availability is considered the main driving factor for oak growth. Even if these oak trees are growing in a steppe environment, EW does not retain a significant response to precipitation, having a similar reaction with oaks in different environmental conditions from Europe [68,69].…”

Distribution of juniper stands and the impact of environmental parameters on growth in the drought-stressed forest-steppe zone of Central Anatolia

“…Growth responses to climatic parameters can vary depending on the climatic zone (boreal, temperate, or continental), growing season, type of ecosystem (steppe, tundra, or rainforest), tree species, etc. (Dulamsuren et al, 2011;Köse et al, 2012;Liang et al, 2012;Bhuyan et al, 2017;Nechita & Chiriloaei, 2018). Previous studies in drought regions have shown that precipitation is the most important limiting factor for tree-ring growth (Touchan & Hughes, 1999;Köse et al, 2012;Fonti et al, 2016).…”

Expert-Based Assessment of the Potential of Agroforestry Systems in Plain Regions across Bihor County, Western Romania

“…In the last few decades, it has been intensively studied across Europe and also Romania thanks to its great economic, ecological and social importance [69][70][71], being one of the most valued tree species in temperate forests [72]. It is a light-demanding species and it can tolerate a broad spectrum of site conditions, being resistant to dry winds and droughts [73,74]. In particular, its seedlings can grow in a wide range of shade levels, from heavy shade to direct light [75].…”